Ferrari F12 TdF, car review: For when an F12’s 730bhp just isn’t enough

This is definitely not a car to just jump into for a track day

The Ferrari F12 is a mighty monster. But perhaps you feel the need for something yet more powerful, but exclusive too. So, with only 799 of these TdFs being made, the chances are you won’t suffer the horror of seeing another one parked next to yours in Tesco’s car park.

Whatever your motivation, the F12 TdF is surely the answer. Let’s deal with that name first though. As cyclists know, those initials stand for Tour de France, and this car does indeed hark back to the Tour de France, but the car event not the cycling event. So it’ll stay as the TdF.

Those initials give you an extra 40bhp over the stock F12, and they also buy you less weight, about 110kg of it. The power is courtesy of a more free-flowing inlet linked to mechanical rather than hydraulic tappets. These race-derived little fellers are noisier and lighter, and allow the redline to rise to 8900rpm.

The lower weight comes from replacing aluminium all over the place with carbonfibre, and by simply stripping out much of the interior.

This front-engined V12 Ferrari is claimed to have the sort of agility that even other Ferraris don’t have. So more power, less weight. But that’s not enough and they’ve gone for big front tyres, 285 rather than 255 section, to add some agility. That comes at the expense of stability, which they’ve addressed.

They’ve addressed the inherent instability by making a rear-wheel steer system which, at normal speeds, turns with the fronts to a degree. It’s complicated and it has the effect of lengthening the wheelbase but perhaps the best way of thinking about it is that it’s like a fighter plane. They’re inherently unstable and are only kept stable by clever electronics. Thus the F12 TdF.

On the move the system works, but it lets you know it’s there. On the road this thing is just a big, insanely fast Ferrari that handles like an F-16. The noise is unbelievable, it’s like you have the soundtrack of a Formula One car of some years ago, turned up loud. And you can really roll it up the rev range and the sound cadences because you get 80% of that torque at just 2000rpm. So you can growl it down then let it spin up towards the screaming redline. It actually starts to react so sharply at the top end that it’s a trifle alarming if you’re not used to it.

That’s the thing about the F12 TdF. It’s not a particularly easy car to drive fast, it’s not as friendly or docile. On the track that comes out more and more. You can enter corners at speeds you think are impossible, the big front tyres biting towards the apex, and then the rear following the same arc. You can unsettle the rears but it takes some doing and the whole experience feels a bit artificial. But very, very fast indeed.

This is definitely not a car to just jump into for a track day. It would help if you were familiar with other Ferraris and their ways but, whatever, this thing could bite if you weren’t up to speed. But most people aren’t going to get the chance anyway.

Are you pondering whether you can afford one? Don’t worry, the decision is not yours, it’s Ferraris. Unless you have owned at least five Ferraris, and unless the company knows you, then you won’t even be invited to buy one at £339,000.

Ferrari F12 TdF

On sale: Now

Price: £339,000

Engine: V12, 6262cc, petrol

Power: 770bhp at 8500rpm

Torque: 520lb ft at 6250rpm

Gearbox: Seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Kerbweight: 1415kg (dry)

Top speed: 211mph

0-60mph: 2.9secs

Economy: 18.3mpg

CO2/tax band: 360g/km/37%